Seluco-Cildanians
The''' Seluco-Cildanians''' (Selucian: Seluco-Cildani; Gziri: Seluko-Qildani) are a Selucian ethnicity in Cildania. Their presence on the island dates back to the 13-14th Century Selucian occupations of western Kinaan and the subsequent Velieres Principality. Today Seluco-Cildanians make up the majority of the population of Velieres, their two main centres being Velieres City (Darlikaan) and Alicinium (Alak). St. Silvius is their Patron Saint, an Selucian general who after converting to Departmental Hosianism returned as a missionary to Selucia only to be executed for treason and heresy. Their primary nationalist symbol is a setting sun and their animal the lesser climbing sea snake. History The earliest records of Selucian immigration into Cildanian can be traced to the 2nd century but the Selucian occupation and settlement of the western cantons of Kinaan and particularly in 1243 the establishment of the Principality of Velieres are considered the start of the Seluco-Cildanian culture as they were the only times single migrations crossed into Cildania in great numbers as opposed to isolated individuals or families. The intial colonists and army auxiliaries with the Exercitus were later, after the independence of Velieres from the Selucian Empire, followed by refugees fleeing the religious conflicts between the Aurorians and Selucian faiths and the adventurous, disinherited or ambitious looking to make a new life for themselves. By the mid 14th century, the Principality of Velieres had been accepted and intregrated into Cildanian politics, the majority of Seluco-Cildanians members of the Department and at the Council of St Origen following the Akilda-Selucian War of 1382 in which Prince of Velieres Jolanus II played a cruical role in the 11th hour Cildanian victory, Velieres was given the Kinaan seat at the Council of Princes being recognized as the primary state of the region although following the union with the Belmonte Principality Kapr and the royal court shifting to Port Clellius Keret Seluco-Celdanian dominance in the Principality faded and by reign of Vivianus in 1452 Middle Akinawan had replaced Velieres Old Selucian as the offical court language. The use of Seluco-Cldanian, like the Hebilean languages, was banned in the early days of the Divine Kingdom under Gildas Kilian I as a result Seluco-Cildanians played a leadership role in Kinaan during the Liberal Revolutions. St. Sascaria is still revered by Seluco-Cildanians and features in many family shrines as a consequence of her support of their re-recognition. The majority of Seluco-Cildanians that rose to national prominence politically during the First Republic era did so as members of Departmental or Action Fascist parties. Under the Qedarite Republic, like Hebileans, Seluco-Cildanians faced severe discrimination and being classified as foreign aliens, many were stripped of citizenship or had their land confiscated. During this time the Seleco-Celdanr Communistarum Fyddixus (SCCF) rose to prominence as the primary expression of nationalistic sentiment and violent opposition to the Qedarite government, establishing a political wing the SCCB after the fall of the Qedarite Republic which has held consistent majorities in local government in Seluco-Cildanian electorates for the last couple centuries although has had little representation nationally or outside of the Velieres strip. Within some parts of the Velieres Strip the SCCB used to be the de facto government and the occasional flares of violence between the SCCF and Cildanian forces continued to marginalize support for Seluco-Cildanian autonomy throughout the nation.Autonomy was eventually gained when, after the installation of a Selucian monarchy on the Cildanian throne in 3978, the Velieres Strip was recognized as a distinct province called Velieres. Language Seluco-Cildanians speak a dialect of the Selucian language, very distinct from formal or classical Selucian. In time, after the Cildanian Civil War, Seluco-Cildanian emerged as a lingua franca throughout Velieres, Kinaan, Jilrit, and parts of Gilzon and Aqildar, and consequently the language had a substantial influence on the vernacular Majatran spoken in Cildania, later on manifested in the emergence of Gziri, a Majatran dialect with primarily Selucian vocabulary. Today Seluco-Cildanians generally speak their Selucian dialect, with standard Selucian reserved for formal contexts, while outside of Velieres members of the Seluco-Cildanian community prefer to speak Gziri. OOC notes Seluco-Cildanians are based on Romanized Punics and Berbers in culture and appearance, as well as on Sicilians, Mozarabs, Moriscos, and Italian Tunisians. Their culture is mainly based on that of the Roman province of Africa. They speak Latin and various Romance languages as well as Maltese. Category:Cildania